Bartram Trail Hike - Wayah Bald to Wallace Branch Trailhead

One other joined me on this hike.

This hike started at Wayah Bald with great views, at an elevation of 5342 feet. The first 0.8 Miles of this hike was down hill and ran concurrent with the AT before splitting off to the south. Shortly after leaving the AT the trail was not maintained and was overgrown for about one mile.

This trail had some great views throughout the hike. It had a lot of ups and downs, which lead to describing it as a roller coaster, for the first 8 miles of the hike.

We took a short side trip to Williams Pulpit, which had a great view.

The flame azalea was in bloom throughout the hike.

The last 2 miles of the hike was a long, gradual descent which brought us to the Wallace Branch Trailhead. Just before reaching the end of the hike we were blessed with a beautiful waterfall.

We were on the trail for 6 hours and 22 minutes.

This 10.9 hike on the Bartram Trail will be a north to south hike, and be mostly a down hill walk in the Nantahala National Forest. The high point of this hike will be the beginning at Wayah Bald (5342 ft.) and the low point will be at the end at Wallace Branch Trailhead (2260 ft.).

At Wayah Bald there is a stone observation tower. The tower is dedicated to John Byrne, who was the chief ranger for the Nantahala National Forest and helped plan the route for the Appalachian Trail. From the tower one can see the Smokies to the northwest, Franklin and the Highlands Plateau to the east, and Rabun Bald, Standing Indian and the hazy mountains of Georgia to the south.

This hike will begin downhill from Wayah Bald towards Franklin. The first half mile of this hike will be concurrent with the Appalachian Trail.  5.3 miles into the hike we will come upon Harrison Gap, with the intersection of Foerest Service Road 713. We should have good views for the first 5 miles of the hike.

As we enter the Wallace Branch Trailhead we should have a waterfall.

This will be a one-way hike and will require an auto shuttle. Plan to spend 6 hours on the trail.

We will be meeting at the Franklin Burger King at 8:00 AM. We will leave the Burger King at 8:30 AM sharp for the trailheads.